10 Wines for Fall Foods

Fantastic wine pairings just in time for autumn

It looks like I’m stuck in Italy, though this is sort of a pan-European dish with the Gruyere from France. Not buying it? That’s okay, because this is everyone’s type of dish. Fancy mac and cheese with mushrooms in it, what could be better? I would get rid of the sweet potato here and probably just add more mushrooms, which makes this the killer dish for Nebbiolo. You know I’ve been waiting months to say that!

Bring on the Barbaresco and Barolo, and an aged bottle would be ideal for this recipe. Of course, they don’t come cheap, at least not the really profound wines, but there are always exceptions. Take the Produttori del Barbaresco, for example. This is one of the great values in Piedmont and even their base Barbaresco bottling, known colloquially as “the Torre bottling” after the tower on the label, ages spectacularly well.

If you prefer a white wine with your macaroni and cheese, not an entirely unwarranted preference, how about some Pecorino? No, not the cheese. Pecorino is another Italian grape that produces slightly nutty wine with a moderately full and gently creamy mouthfeel. A perfect complementary pairing for this recipe.

Mentioned in this article

Comments

Dear Gregory, just one correction: Gruyere cheese comes from Switzerland (french speaking part), and not from France! More precisely from the Swiss region of Gruyere. It's an "AOC" product (appellation d'origine controlée), Gruyere cheese underlies very strict production rules and only comes from small, defined areas in the alps and Jura mountains (still Switzerland). The name is also protected. And: If you find, try out "Etivaz" cheese, from the same geographical region but only made from milk of cows spending their summer in the high meadows located in the alps. Besides I enjoy your blog and share your preferences for wine from Piemonte and Pinot Noir from Burgundy, areas I'm lucky to have nearby,living in Geneva, Switzerland. CinCin! Christoph Gisler